To Sail On Calm Seas
by Draco Oblivion
Summary: This is a story set in the One Piece world that will have original characters and an original crew  NO CANON. OC's are wanted and will be appreciated. Please read and review.
1. Prologue

AN: This is my first story it will be set in the world of One Piece but will use original characters. OC's are accepted for crew mates, allies, rivals and enemies but I already have an idea of some of the people I want on the crew so submitted ideas for the crew may just become rivals or allies. I will update as much as I can without failing my courses so I hope you enjoy the story and continue to follow its progress.

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To sail on calm seas

It was a beautiful day, the sun shone down warming the water and the people sailing it. The glistening of the water perfectly mimicked the glowing orb in the sky as if it were painted onto the blue canvass. The scene was only marred by the heavily weathered floating piece of wood in the centre of the picture. Inside of this sorry-excuse-of-a-boat lay a noticeably short silver haired girl in a black halter top and faded blue denim shorts. There were maps splayed across her lap and around her alongside her grey furry boots and an iron bat. She loudly fumbled with her navigation apparatus while a tall dark skinned boy lay across from her in the small shabby boat. He wore a black sleeveless t-shirt under a grey and black chequered coat the hood of which draped across the water alongside his afro causing ripples to form in the water before being destroyed by the larger form of the boat. He also wore dark jeans and combat boots beside which lay a black messenger bag as well as all of the food collected for the voyage.

Meanwhile the girl was still frantically looking for something before seeing a large silver compass attached to a thick faded metal chain by the sleeping boy's foot. The initial grin that caused her face to shine quickly turned to a grimace as the boy started to snore loudly. With a grunt the boy gently stirred as the silver haired girl leaned towards and him and drew her arm back to hit him in the face with her boot. As the boot was a few inches from his face the boys eyes blasted open and his hand shot in front of his face stopping the grey foot wear before it could cause any damage. "What the hell Kinzoku?" spoke a deep angry voice that shredded the quiet atmosphere of the scene. The girl named Kinzoku gave a loud huff before informing the young man named Zenythe that it was his own fault for falling asleep when he promised to stay awake with her. A memory suddenly popped into both of the heads from a few days ago when they first set off on the adventure and had been sailing for a few hours.

_**As the navigator of the two man crew Kinzoku had to control the 'ships' direction. Due to the dangerous waters between Oreburgh and the next island caused by the dangerous sea creatures, its powerful waves and its famous whirlpools, Kinzoku had to stay alert at almost all times. This lead Zenythe, in an attempted act of chivalry to loudly proclaimed, "If you must stay awake then I too will not sleep until you get the chance to. After all it is the least that I can do." in order to lighten the burden felt by his captain despite the fact that he wasn't able to sail.**_

The memory of the pathetic rhyme brought a distant smile to both of their faces before Zenythe's turned into an apologetic smile and Kinzoku's turned into an angry frown. Kinzoku was about to tear into him about what she viewed as the most heinous betrayal when another memory wormed its way into her head.

_**It was the day that they set off for their journey. Kinzoku was crouched beside a boat readying it for a long voyage; placing her belongings and supplies inside while also checking the boat was sea worthy, when a voice was heard behind her. She jumped readying her bat to incapacitate anyone who attempted to stop her when she noticed it was her closest childhood friend standing before her. Zenythe stood with his hands in his pockets and a lopsided grin plastered on his face. "Weren't you even going to say goodbye?" he quickly asked her. **_

_**She stood solemnly for a few seconds before saying, "you can't come with me you may not see it now but you were born to be a marine. I'm not gonna let you give up on that."**_

_**Zenythe gave a larger smirk and immediately stated, "to hell with being a marine: following orders, wearing a uniform and being a pawn of the world government doesn't seem like much fun to me. Besides, then I'd have to take YOU out and there'd be nobody to watch your back." Kinzoku immediately tackled him in a bear hug before grabbing his bag and small case throwing it in the boat and jumping in.**_

_**She hastily turned to Zenythe with a large grin on her face and ushered him into the boat and said, "then let's GO already!"**_


	2. A new beginning I

Authors note: I would like to thank Mareo and Anime, shadowjohn 101, abbylee95, Sakura-chan 484, Endless Xero, Tomoji-kun, ANBU-Winter-Snow and AlpineDweller for their support. I would also like to thank IAmTheSorrow for proof reading the last chapter and Endless Xero for proof reading this one. Finally I want to apologise for taking so long to update and dedicate the chapter to Sakura-chan 484 for being my first reviewer.

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Waves slapped against the shore line as the old boat swayed alongside it, attached to the larger solid footing like a new born baby to its mother. The two young friends had left it a few hours earlier after spending days glued to its benches. Before they had even secured the boat, Kinzoku had jumped out in order to stretch her legs, almost capsizing the boat and submerging Zenythe along with all of their belongings which since all of the food and almost all of the water was gone, admittedly wasn't much. While Zenythe quickly attempted to stabilize the vessel Kinzoku had already taken off with their combined funds in the direction of a restaurant.

Once Zenythe had gotten himself out of the boat as well as all of their possessions which he stuffed inside of his duffel bag and then threw over his shoulder, he immediately charged down the path that his overly enthusiastic captain had taken. He found the restaurant she was in within five minutes due to the amount of people streaming out of it and the sounds of screams and crashes from inside. He dashed through the crowd of people leaving and paid no attention to the people who he knocked down or their muttering. When he managed to make his way in he saw a site of utter destruction. The majority of tables had been broken and large men lay in between the pieces, chairs were thrown all over the room but most of them lay in the hands of other men, all attempting to strike the girl with the silver tied back hair as she sent man after man flying across the room with just her bare fists.

Zenythe sped to his captain, drawing her favourite weapon from the endless depth of the bag and quickly handed it to her. She blew her small fringe from her face after she snatched it from him with a large smile; he then swiftly jumped back to the doorway in order to avoid the predestined destruction. She tossed the bat between her hands like a cat with a ball of yarn whilst dodging the attacks coming from her future victims. She suddenly grabbed the cloth wrapped handle in her right hand as a vein violently pulsed due to the strength of her grip and rapidly spun around on the spot while screaming, "Iron tornado!" The brawlers were smashed back with a sickening cracking sound and those lucky enough not to be hit by the deadly iron bat were either swept away by the winds summoned by the attack, or were hit by the other fighters as they went flying in to the outskirts of the restaurant. The only one unaffected by the attack which almost tore through the walls of the business which would have caused it to crumble on top of those inside, was the man in the doorway who braced himself against the winds and simply pushed the flying men out of his way with the hand that wasn't snugly tucked inside of his pocket.

When his captain had finished her attack and had come to a standstill the man slowly walked towards her, clapping with a smirk on his face. "Well done for finally learning how to hold back" he said as reached Kinzoku.

A proud bright smile broke over her face like a sun rise as she sincerely thanked him, "thanks Zenythe, it was hard but I can finally control the strength of the attack a hell of a lot better than before."

He smiled for a second before it dropped and a serious expression took its place as he said, "What did they do anyway."

Her smile dropped also as she pointed to a man who looked basically the same as the rest of them, overly muscled, medium length hair and stubble as she said, "that douche bag had the nerve to slap my arse so I broke his arm and knocked him out which his buddies didn't appreciate." As she said the word "buddies" her arms spread to incorporate the rest of the room which had been cleared with everything but the two pirates on the edges. However Zenythe only had eyes for the man who Kinzoku initially pointed out. He slowly but determinedly stepped towards him and when he was a foot away he stomped onto the man's stomach causing blood from his mouth to spray the ceiling before he kicked him through the wall.

Before he could move Kinzoku was by his side tightly grabbing his arm; restraining the young man and asked, "Is that better now?"

Zenythe snorted before giving the short reply without meeting her eyes, "Yeah, a little."

It was then Kinzoku's turn to snort before dragging him away from the hole in the wall and towards the door and saying, "You really need to watch your temper" to which Zenythe gave no reply.

A few hours later the two man crew had bought the supplies for the voyage to the next island and were just spending the rest of the day relaxing as they planned to ship out during the night. Kinzoku had ran off to a restaurant once again as she didn't get a chance to eat before and Zenythe had insisted that they first buy more supplies first event though he too was hungry, probably hungrier than her as during the voyage while she was busy with her maps he had slipped most of his share of the food into her bag as he believed she needed the energy more than him.

Zenythe had made sure that the two pirates had sat in the corner with him facing the door; a cautious look was on his face, as if he could sense trouble brewing due to their earlier activities. Kinzoku had ordered a large beef burger with chips and some cola that she was half way through by the time that Zenythe had just started his chicken sandwich, fries and banana milkshake. By the time Kinzoku had finished her own meal along with most of Zenythe's chips, Zenythe could see a commotion outside of the restaurant before a group of men burst through the door.

The men were large, hairy and dressed in black, like the men from the restaurant earlier. At the forefront of the group stood two people; one was a small, skinny man with greasy black hair and was hunched over with a leering arrogant look in his eyes. He looked familiar and without much effort Zenythe recalled where he had seen him before. He was there at the other restaurant earlier, one of the few people not running from the violent scene and then later he was the man Zenythe noticed staring at them while they were eating but who disappeared when he turned to properly look. The tall, slim, well shaven man next to him, who towered above everyone else in the room, especially the hunched man stood glaring at them before barking at the short man "you sure that's them?"

To which the man who gave off the impression of being the man's servant answered, "Yes father, I am sure."

The man then laughed out of pure glee ignoring the shocked look on the pirates face after his son's previous statement and said, "So you're the young couple that put my son into such a sorry state."

After the initial blush Kinzoku got angry and pointed at the man who was dwarfed by his father and said, "One, we are NOT a couple and two, we didn't do anything to him, I haven't even seen him before."

The glare once again returned to his face before kicking his son over and turning to Zenythe and saying, "I'm not talking about this worthless trash I'm talking about the big hairy oaf who I'm guessing hit on your girl."

Once again like in the last restaurant a cold look came into Kinzoku's eyes after the initial shock of the three of them as a family wore off and she angrily stated, "I'm NOT his girl."

The man once again laughed and while still looking at Zenythe and said, "So you don't deny what you did to my son. You're gonna pay for that, especially the little girl who doesn't know to keep quiet when the men are talking or maybe…" The whole time he was talking Kinzoku was grinding her teeth, as she was beginning notice how he only spoke to Zenythe and was on the brink of charging, until he made the comment about how she should be quiet which caused her to snap.

He didn't get a chance to finish and Kinzoku didn't get to attack however, due to the fact that in a split second Zenythe's fist was in the man's stomach and his blood dribbled from his mouth as Zenythe muttered, "DON'T threaten my captain." There was a loud gasp coming from the 100 strong mob as their leader fell but the person who had the worst reaction was the son, who dropped to his knees, tears falling from his despair filled eyes as Kinzoku smiled.

In the next second the boy jumped to his feet with amazing speed attacking the man who defeated his hero, his life, the man he devoted his entire life trying to obtain approval from. The shock on Zenythe's face was obvious; he had not expected a fight after the leader was defeated especially from the quiet weak looking son, though this speed explained how he left without Zenythe getting a good look at him last time. The boy was swinging what looked like kitchen knives but Zenythe couldn't get a good image of them as they were swinging too fast. Left uppercut, right to left swipe with the left blade, right handed jab, right handed downwards slash, left jab before it repeated with the hands switched, Zenythe was beginning to understand the pattern of attacks that must have been formed by constant drills and repeated movements. They were so set and steady it appeared as if the boy had been practicing the movements for years; probably an attempt to make that pathetic-excuse-of a father proud which Zenythe could relate too. Zenythe had completely memorised the sequence and was trying to come up with a plan of counter attack, but the swings were still too fast even if dodging was just becoming repetition and required no thought.

While both combatants were completely focussed the "little girl" appeared beside them as she drew her bat from the duffel bag on Zenythe's shoulder and swung it into the boy before he got a chance to move. He shot into the rest of his father's cronies as the sequence was broken and Zenythe came to a standstill. Kinzoku quickly shouted to the crowd, "Anyone else want some?" To which they replied, by those who could running away and those who couldn't either laying there unconscious or looking scared.

Zenythe chuckled at recent events before sarcastically saying, "They're a tight knit group aren't they." Kinzoku smiled before remembering the boy.

She then quietly stated, "It was sad how upset he got about his father. I mean, he treated him like crap. You wouldn't be that upset about your dad would you? 'Cause we're gonna end up having to fight him eventually."

Zenythe gave a sad smile before he spoke, "I know we will, but I'll be alright. I know my dad didn't treat me that bad but I decided to take a different path. I knew that would eventually lead to conflict but I'm prepared for that."

He gave Kinzoku a reassuring smile before she snorted and said, "This makes me glad my parents are nobodies."

"They're not nobodies, they're great people who live on a small mining island and don't do anything to get involved in conflict." Zenythe assured her with a smile on his face.

Kinzoku also smiled then before grabbing Zenythe's arm, dragging him passed the bodies, out the broken door and towards the docks while over enthusiastically shouting, "Now let's GO already!"


	3. A new beginning II

Sorry for taking so long but at least it's longer than the others. Im not sure how this turned out but hopeful it's okay.

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Rain crashed against the roof of the small shack-like house, it was as if there were thousands of tiny drums being continually beaten throughout the night. Despite this however the small home emit a loud snoring that almost drowned out the sound of the rain. Suddenly a loud crash echoed through the town before a deafening roar over shadowed it.

Inside of the small house on the right hand side as you enter through the door, lay three beds placed next to each other with small gaps in between. On the left side of the one room house stood a chair and a desk covered in paper and by the wall on the far side of the house stood a small work surface with a sink that had plates and other cutlery piled high and spilling over the sides. In the middle of the room stood what seemed to be one of the people involved in the racket; a tall man who was at least 7 foot in height, with black mid-length wavy hair, short un-styled facial hair and light brown skin, wearing an orange t-shirt that said "one hit knock out," on the front. He also wore a pair of plain black track suit trousers and black and white trainers, and at the moment one of them was placed on the back of a tall young man, that would have been dwarfed if he stood next to the giant. He lay on his stomach wearing a white hoody over a grey t-shirt, plain jeans and white trainers. After a few seconds the young man said in a gruff muffled voice, "Raion! Can you PLEASE get off of me now?"

There was a quick snort but the foot had not moved by the time Raion bent down towards the boy's level and said, "Well, have you learnt your lesson yet Arashi?" While there black eyes stared so intensely at each other it was as if electricity was passing between them.

This earned a burst of rage from the boy called Arashi as he pushed himself back up, causing Raion to fall over before Arashi bent over him and started shouting in his face, "How dare you talk to me like I'm a child! I'm OLDER than you! You're only sixteen!"

The hairy boy that looked at least ten years older than he actually was jumped up at that point into the face of Arashi and shouted back, "well that's 'cause you act like a child, I mean why the HELL did you kick me out of my bed."

"How could I not." Was the immediate response before Arashi continued his rant, "You were snoring so loudly I doubt anyone in the town could sleep, I'm practically a hero…"

Before Arashi could continue however the door smashed open and a tall figure walked in. He was deathly pale and had pitch black shoulder length hair that fell onto a plain black hoody that was worn over another bare black t-shirt. As well as the hoody and t-shirt he wore unadorned black tracksuit trousers and trainers and rings on his thumbs. Most striking of all however was the boy's two pistols hanging in holsters with large bayonets pointing down from each one on either side of his legs and his piercing blue eyes that hardened as he saw Arashi and Raion's confrontational body language. As the two young men sheepishly looked up he glared at them coldly before quietly growled, "What, the HELL!"

The next morning was almost the mirror image of the events the previous night for Raion. It started with a kick to the back and him landing on the floor, but unlike the night before he didn't have to attack Arashi as he soon joined him; the both them sprawled out on the floor and getting increasingly tangled as they tried to worm their way off of each other and out of the gap between their beds. The sound of the two muttering and kicking each other in their failed attempts of escape were quickly drowned out by the sound of the man from yesterday loudly chuckling. "ERIOT" both boys loudly proclaimed.

"What?" Eriot asked innocently.

Arashi jumped up and angrily said, "You know what. You kicked us out of our beds."

Eriot looked confused as he repeated himself, "what?"This caused both boys swiftly turn to each other causing Eriot to fall on his back laughing.

When he managed to calm down and the other two picked their jaws off of the floor he chuckled to himself saying, "you're both so gullible, what would you do without me?"

Raion quickly spoke up and said, "Well first I'd get rid of Arashi and then I'd finally get some sleep" as nonchalantly as he could.

Eriot once again chuckled as Arashi turned around, glared at Raion and said, "Ditto."

This caused Raion to laugh as he said, "What? You wanna get rid of yourself too?" This remark caused Arashi to silently seethe.

Eriot smiled and said, "I didn't imagine when I started looking out for the two of you that you'd be so much trouble." Eriot remembered the day he started looking out for Raion; the day he became indebted to his younger brother.

_**It was 12 years earlier; Eriot was 7 while Raion was just 4. Up until then Raion had mainly stayed in the play room of the orphanage and had therefore not seen much of Eriot as he always snuck out to explore despite the beatings it earned him. However previously Raion had been moved out of his old room next to the, "mother and father" of the orphanage's room and been moved in with Eriot in order to make space for the younger children that the "mother" had to keep a closer watch on. Initially Eriot had paid no attention to the young boy, but the indifference was quick to grow into annoyance as Raion followed him everywhere, as to the child he seemed strong and mysterious as he often saw Eriot taken beatings without a tear leaving his face and at other points he would simply disappear without even the seemingly all knowing "father" knowing where he was. **_

_**During one day that was like many others something happened to change this strained barely existent relationship. Eriot had once again somehow escaped his young stalker who sat in their room waiting for him to climb in through the window when he thought everyone was asleep like he had numerous other times when he heard "father" walking up the stairs. The smell of alcohol wafted all the way up to their room. When he heard him stop outside their room he knew he was planning to take out his frustration on his favourite punching bag, it was not like Eriot was an angel, he had caused trouble all his life but once he had reached 5 he had been even worse, leaving randomly and sometimes staying out for days on end so when he came back "father" had been more than generous with his beatings. Though Eriot often ignored him Raion still liked him and didn't want to be hurt so he immediately put his pillow under his covers and jumped into Eriot's bed, knowing "father" wouldn't know the difference in his drunken stupor. **_

_**Once Eriot got back he found Raion crying on his bed and was about to throw him on the floor when he saw the bruises. He quietly growled, "What the HELL?" Before Raion sat up and explained the beating he took to stop Eriot from getting in more trouble; after all the last time "father" found out he snuck out he ended up in the hospital due to a "fall". Eriot sat down next to the crying boy he had repeatedly shunned and put his arm around him in attempt to comfort him. He then promised, "I will make this up to you, even if it's the last thing that I do."**_

Eriot sat there thinking about this for a while, oblivious to the world as he remembered what his actions caused the four year old Raion. He remembered all that he had put his 'brother' through and the debt he stilled owed him. He then looked to his newest 'brother' who also was remembering those times from the stories he had heard from the other two.

Eriot stood with a frown on his face as he looked at Raion and stewed in past regrets while Arashi remembered the stories and Raion continued the playback of his childhood memories.

_**It was two years later; the orphanage had closed down after Eriot decided to fight back against the over enthusiastic punisher and put him in the hospital and both boys were living on the streets. Eriot had made good on his promise to make it up to him in Raion's eyes as soon as he stopped ignoring him, and even more so when he put "father" in the hospital. However Eriot didn't see it that way and still strived to straighten out his debt, but that wasn't the only reason he helped him anymore. Over the two years Raion and Eriot had grown close and they were the closest thing the other had to family since they came to the orphanage as babies; Raion due to his mother's death during child birth and a previously dead father and Eriot due to what appeared to be abandonment.**_

_**After a few months of homelessness the strain was beginning to show; especially on Raion who wasn't as strong or resilient as Eriot. If it hadn't been for Eriot's natural stealth and his ability to steal the two may not have made it. Though Eriot at this point could probably take out most people if he needed to, he still refused to attack people as long as there was another option and if he didn't have to look after Raion he still wouldn't have done it even then. **_

_**It had been about a year of petty thievery when Eriot had decided to up the stakes. He began to realize that simply stealing food wasn't enough; they barely got enough to eat. Raion had attempted to help a few times but he was simply too clumsy and didn't have what it took to pull it off. The few time Eriot had allowed Raion to join him he had given them away which meant that Eriot had to incapacitate the store or stall owner before getting Raion and making a run for it. The catalyst of the change in lifestyle started on a day when Eriot decided to mug someone. Raion had grown thin and ill and they were without the money they needed to be able to pay for medication so Eriot had set his mind on doing anything he could to make the money needed. **_

_**Though Eriot had said he would get the money no matter what he couldn't bring himself to steal from any of the people he saw. As he sat on a roof top looking down at the people passing by he saw someone who he immediately knew deserved to be robbed; he was a pirate. Eriot had kept the ship the man had left in the corner of his eyes. It was a medium sized vessel, with a large fish on the front. There were many men that poured out but this man had started walking towards his direction after splitting off from the rest of the crew. **_

_**His name was 'hook hand' Harry and he had a bounty of 7 million beli but unknown to Eriot at the time was the most important fact about the pirate, and that is that his encounter with him would change his life forever. Eriot crouched on the roof preparing his attack while the pirate walked below him when suddenly he stopped. Though he was too far away for the 9 year old Eriot to see this, there was a slight smile on his face as he looked up directly at Eriot who thought that he was too far back along the roof to be seen and said, "you gonna stay up there forever?" **_

_**Eriot was visibly shaken by his presence being known but he shook himself into a more calm state before muttering, "no matter, we NEED the money" and with the last word he jumped from the height, flipping in the air just above the man and aiming a kick to the smiling pirates face. He landed with a crash and a cloud of smoke was released into the air. A dark silhouette could be seen behind the young boy as he wondered where the man had gone. **_

"_**I'm Harry by the way, what's your name?" Harry loudly asked causing Eriot to jump and aim a kick behind him, Harry was already gone. "That was very rude" spoke Harry from behind Eriot once again, however as Eriot sent another kick behind him, instead of dodging as he had consistently done before Harry simply smacked the leg out of the way before wrapping his fingers around Eriot's neck and lifting the boy in the air.**_

"_**Eriot, my name's Eriot" the young boy moaned as he struggled against the man who held him in the air by the throat; he was afraid for his life only now realizing how outclassed he was. **_

"_**That's better, now that the pleasantries are out of the way I think you have potential and I think we can come to some arrangement."**_

_**On the other side of the island another young boy of the age of 8 stood in the blistering heat of his father's forge. The boy's father stood over a large work top that was the main feature of the room although it contained many other things of note. Swords, hammers, the prongs from pitchforks and many other objects made from metal hung from the walls of the room and a large furnace attached to a chimney stood in the corner. The flames burst out heating the room to an uncomfortable level. **_

_**The man was tall and muscular with a shaved head, shorts and a muscle vest. He stood over a large nodachi that had a long black handle. The blade had a bright orange glow and sparks shot out as the man struck it with a large hammer. The boy with short black hair and a grey t-shirt and black shorts stood looking at his father in awe as he honed the edge of the elegant blade. "This will be yours one day Arashi" the man said as he smiled down at his son while continuing his work on the blade. Arashi just continued to beam at his father as he watched him: work on the sword and practice the trade he hoped to inherit. **_

_**Three years later Arashi had started his training as a blacksmith and was able to use all the tools his dad owned; as well as being able to use the furnace though he still wasn't as skilled as his father who had had a lot more practice. He had also greatly improved in his sword fighting abilities, now having the strength to go with his experience and skill. His fighting abilities were now at the level where he was able to consistently able to beat his father in their sparring matches as well as anyone else who challenged him. Though he didn't officially own the blade his father had entrusted it to him for safe keeping and to train, which greatly improved the boy's motivation.**_

_**Arashi was beside his father with swords in hand as they walked back to their forge to check on it before going home, after a long day at the market attempting to sell their wares. The trek home was long but the father and son weren't tired as they often went for runs longer than this in order to stay in shape. **_

_**When the 12 year old Arashi and his father reached the forge they saw something that they hadn't expected. Seven men of varying heights stood outside the forge wearing dark clothes and black cloth over their faces. As the two males entered their line of sight they immediately drew their weapons and charged the father and son pair. **_

_**Arashi immediately froze in shock as he had no experience in actual high pressured situations. He often fought but his sparring matches couldn't compare to actually being attacked; the killer intent could almost be felt in the air causing it to thicken and weigh down on the young boy.**_

_**Arashi's father however reacted completely differently. He was a lot more experienced than his son, and had been through a lot. Being an ex-marine he had fought and won many battles where combatants had been after more than just victory. He immediately drew a blade from Arashi's hand leaving behind its scabbard and charged to meet the attackers head on. **_

_**The blacksmith rushed to meet the seven attackers clashing blades with the spear point of the group with a loud clang as the one man army charged forward with the man still attached to him through their blades breaking the strict formation they had earlier ran in. The ex-marine immediately gave a smile at the ease in which their squad was broken. The smile quickly turned up-side down however as he realized it was all part of their plan. The masked man that was being pushed forward quickly pressed his heel down bringing himself to a halt as his companions surrounded the target, they formed a circle around him as the man pushed the target back and they then started to move inwards; causing him to be at risk from all of their drawn blades.**_

_**The man slowly looked round attempting to assess the situation and find his enemies weak points and exploit them; the opposite of what he must now do to the swords in his current trade. He loved his work, ever since his wife had become ill he had decided he couldn't stay a marine and when she died that was the last straw. He hadn't been there for her in her last moments having been stuck out at sea; something he would never forgive himself for, but he had to be there for his son; his son was all he had and vice versa. He immediately resigned after getting back to his post on the island they called home. He lived in the marine base of the island with his family and having resigned he had to leave, so he decided to go to the largest most industrial island in the area. He decided to have a peaceful trade his son could inherit and that could give him a nice life and provide for his family even after he joined his wife. He never thought that his previous life would catch up to him and cause trouble for his family.**_

_**Looking at his son's blank crying face the man made a last ditch attempt to escape. He made as if to charge forward as the man in front of him braced, he feinted right before turning and jumping backwards. However the man he initially confronted was too fast and sliced open his back so all could see his almost severed spine, blood spraying over the man's face causing him to look even more demonic. The young Arashi simply fell to his knees, wide eyed not believing his father could truly lose; knowing he had never truly tried to fight his son at even half strength.**_

_**The dying man looked to his killer with glazed eyes and asked, "why, why did you do this now of all times?" **_

_**The man looked at him expressionlessly. "Because Rodan doesn't like competition." The ex-marines eyes tore open. RIVALRY! I have been killed, and my son has been left alone for something as meaningless as BUSINESS RIVALRY. Thought Arashi's father as he lost what was left of his composure and dignity. He immediately slumped down to the floor on his back from his propped up position as tears streamed down his face reflecting the light from the stars above. He had enough rage in him at this point to fight on pure adrenaline but he had already lost feeling and control of his legs. He lay there paralysed as the emotion, feeling and blood slowly drifted out of his body and then there was nothing. Arashi simply kneeled there as his father died and his killers slowly strolled pass before he also became dead to the world. **_

_**A year had passed and Raion had gotten his medicine and was feeling better than ever. He had grown by this point in time and now towered over Eriot which made him wonder what exactly was in that medicine. His 6 foot height coupled with the beard had made him seem much older than the 11 years he actually was. His hair had also grown beyond the short length the orphanage had kept it and now the hair curled all over his head causing it to be just off the collar. His muscle size also caused him to seem much older and extremely helped in any rough situation he found himself in.**_

_**He and Eriot had just left the house they now owned and were jogging through the streets for both exercise and in order to find someone. The two brothers jogged along the narrow paths of Pastoria Island's main town that they knew like the back of their hands. They continued down one of the longer paths until they reached a large colourful forge attached to a shop that sold the products made in the forge, and took metal objects that needed to be honed or fixed as well as the place that tools were given back. Standing outside were the people they needed to see, but standing in front of them with a large nodachi in one hand and the black scabbard in the other, was a young boy around Eriot's age that stood challenging their targets.**_

_**As they slowed their walk the boy without turning to them said, "Back off these guys are mine."**_

_**Eriot smiled at the fact that the boy already knew who they were and then replied, "Sorry kid, but how about you get lost and let us do our job."**_

_**The boy immediately shouted, "My names not 'kid', it's Arashi and I can't just back off. With these guys its personal; they killed my father" in reply as he finally turned to the two assassins, and as he did so the men took it as their chance to attack him using the same diamond attack formation. Unlike his father however he didn't simply attack the middle, as he knew that they would simply surround him; he had learnt from the mistakes of his father.**_

_**Arashi immediately appeared behind the seven thugs after doing an incredible leap over the whole squad. He then made a quick slash at what he could guess was the weakest of the group as he noticed the strongest were at the front. The spear point of the group, the man that struck the finishing blow on Arashi's father immediately appeared blocking the blade; holding the handle of his katana and palm pressed against the flat side of the actual blade. Arashi then made an upwards sweep with the scabbard of the nodachi and upon making contact with the thug's katana it sent him reeling back as his companions scattered to make way. "So the son returns to avenge the father hmm, you've already surpassed him as well; you have a lot of potential." These words wrung a bell in Eriot's head causing him to remember the deal that he made after he started a fight around a year ago. **_

_**Arashi began to trade blows with the man. He weaved and jumped and rolled passed a multitude of attacks while also sending off a few of his own; the gap between the two's skill wasn't nearly as large as between the man and Arashi's father. Arashi struck with both the blade and scabbard; black and silver blurs whizzing through the air towards his foe, while the man simply struck with his sword other than a few low blows with one of his fists or knees. The man was able to land one of these less honourable blows after a particularly unbalanced strike from Arashi; giving the man the chance to side step and knee him in the stomach and cause the child to fall on the floor with blood in his mouth. **_

"_**Aaaahhhhhhh" the boy screamed as he flew off the ground and charged towards the man; there was a loud clash as they entered into a contest of strength. The strain was showing on both parties as the swords clashed; each side putting all of the force they could muster into the battle. The ground beneath their feet began to crack due to the pressure they exerted, however the balance of the competition began to shift as Arashi began to press forward. Step by step he slowly started to overcame the man, having proven to himself the benefit of his training the boy once again swung the scabbard using his left hand having only used his right in the struggle, and the scabbard made contact with the murderers chin with a loud smack knocking him into his companions before turning on them as well. Having proven to himself the difference in their strength the boy immediately set about knocking out the battlers with his scabbard or the flat side of his blade before turning to the man he would always hate.**_

"_**I guess I was wrong when I said you had potential. You're already strong in your own right" said the man with blood trickling from his mouth and split jaw. The boy silently walked towards him blade glistening in the sun as if it could almost taste the blood that would soon satiate its thirst.**_

_**When the boy reached the man propped up on the floor he simply stated, "You're not worth staining my sword" and put it back into the scabbard after giving the man a low blow between his legs causing the man to gasp. He was about to walk away when a shot was fired and blood squirted across his leg. Arashi turned round to see the nameless assassin lying on the floor with a massive hole in his head and blood pouring all around him. Shocked at what he just saw Arashi turned to the older boy who was holding the smoking gun and shouted, "what the hell; you killed him in COLD BLOOD!" **_

_**Eriot looked at the teary eyed boy with an expressionless face and said, "I was doing my job and like I expected, you couldn't manage to."**_

_**The shocked Arashi slowly took a deep breath before saying, "What? Your job is to murder people!"**_

"_**No. My job is not to murder people, I do that at my own discretion; my job is to eliminate threats."**_

"_**But he was already beaten, he was no threat." **_

"_**Getting beaten doesn't make you any less of a threat; it just makes you pissed off. He would have eventually continued and killed someone else's father." This caused an angry-determined look to return to Arashi's eye as he moved to draw his blade; causing Eriot to rapidly continue "What I did was for the best, the main fighting force of the 'blood hand' is gone for good and this will likely break up the rest of the group, discourage other groups from forming and send a message to their employers" the man said as he nodded to the forge. Arashi just shook his head in irritation as Eriot spoke, what in his mind was a load of rubbish.**_

_**As he had no more reason to be at the scene of the murder he decided to get out of there; it might bring back memories that wouldn't help anyone. He simply walked past the black haired murderer without another word; the two of them not breaking eye contact wandering what the other would do as Arashi walked passed a hand suddenly shot out a few inches from Arashi's chest stopping him from leaving. As he traced the origin of the large hairy and muscular arm he saw it was attached to a young man with unruly facial hair and black and curly hair. As he looked along the arm he saw at the base there was an orange t-shirt with a large black star on the front. **_

_**Arashi immediately reached for his blade but Eriot had firmly gripped both hands before he got the chance. "We don't want to fight." Eriot quietly assured Arashi.**_

"_**Then get off me and let me pass." Arashi muttered venomously while keeping his eyes on Raion.**_

"_**Calm down we just want to talk." The large man said with a voice much higher than would have been expected to come from someone as large as him.**_

"_**I have nothing to say to you."**_

_**Eriot ignored the comment from Arashi before continuing, "Do you have a place to stay; you're looking pretty skinny."**_

"_**HA that's rich coming from you and what's it to you anyway."**_

"_**Well if you don't," he said before pausing, " I might have a job for you."**_

"_**And what might that be." Arashi said; hi voice dripping with sarcasm.**_

"_**The same as us." The two boys replied at the same time.**_

"_**You want me to be an ASSASSIN!" Arashi shouted.**_

"_**We're not ASSASSINS! We're peace-keepers; warriors of justice!" Eriot said striking a 'heroic' pose.**_

"_**Yeah right."**_

"_**WE ARE! By taking out the opposition of Hook's crew we stop battles; stopping innocent people and their property from getting caught up in the cross-fire. Our job saves people's lives." Eriot said attempting to defend his position. "Plus the pays not too shabby." Eriot said smiling widely and scratching the back of his head sheepishly.**_

"_**So you kill for the money. Remind me again why you're not assassins." Arashi argued.**_

"_**Because we don't have to kill, I just choose to. Besides I doubt we'll have to do that again, after all apart from a few pirates coming into town, who will be stupid enough to try and take US on, and we get taken care of regardless of when we actually fight; beating people up just gets us bonuses." Eriot said grinning and causing Raion to break into a smile.**_

"_**Hmm." Arashi said as he thought about what the outcome of his accepting the job would be.**_

* * *

I only just read the "it might be easier if you had your own submission sheet" from Mareo and Anime so here it is.

Submission sheet for characters

Name:

Age:

Gender:

Race:

Position:

Weapons:

Appearance:

History:

Family:

Personality:

Likes:

Dislikes:

Aims:

Other


	4. A new beginning III

**A/N: Okay I don't own One Piece, I know I forgot to say it before but I didn't own it then either.**

**I would also like to apologize for the late update but I lost the chapters I had written before when my computer got screwed up and then I had exams so… yeah.**

**Oh and just so you know all characters submitted will appear so don't worry if they're not added for a while, they'll be there**** and 'Hook hand' Harry's bounty has been raised it was now 70 million beri at the time of the flashback **

**Another change is the 'three assassins' outfits, I think they're boring plus I don't really remember them so just forget them because I won't be using the same ones.

* * *

**

It was a sunny day on the calm seas of the south blue as the two young pirates sprawled out on their own sides of the boat, which there was just enough space to do even with the bags Zenythe insisted on bringing. They had been letting the boat drift under the control of the wind for just under a fortnight now. Both pirates were beyond bored at the moment and had resorted to every and anything they could think of to pass the time including seeing who could hold their breath for longer under the water; Kinzoku achieving 3 minutes and 38 seconds and Zenythe achieving 3 minutes and 36 seconds. They also attempted to swim alongside the boat but both had quickly become bored of the tiresome rhythmic motions.

They were just about to take out the paddles and row as fast as they could when they saw the island they had been waiting for since the last island. Pastoria Island was finally in view.

* * *

"Ok guys I think we have a free day today so you might as well go train while I go check in with the boss." Stated a cheery Eriot after having thrown both of his friends out of bed and into a pile in the middle of the room.

"I really can't be bothered" was the muffled reply from underneath Arashi.

"Well if you don't you'll be as weak and pathetic as ever" smirked Arashi to the half-asleep giant underneath him before getting up to get ready for the oncoming day. "To be honest I don't know how either of you are so calm, this is a big day, the beginning of an era. The era of… what's the name again?" The boy asked Eriot.

"No idea but that's not important right now. Just get ready we have as much time as we need." Eriot said before shrugging his black jacket on over his black shirt with rolled up sleeves and red scarf. He then walked away; his trench coat billowing around him revealing more of his black trousers and shoes before closing the door behind him.

Arashi, while still watching the door blankly muttered, "Well get a move on then you lazy bum" before turning to see Raion in a deep sleep. In response to this a vein began to pulse in his head before he made a quick run up to kick Raion's leg but was met with air when Raion raised his legs, causing Raion to fall backwards and fall unconscious as Raion climbed back into his bed with a smile on his face.

* * *

Kinzoku and Zenythe had finally made it to the island and had already tied up their small boat. Once again Zenythe had insisted on carrying all of their possessions not trusting people to not go through and find their valuables, however this time Kinzoku carried her bat herself using a strap on her back.

The two pirates stood for a while their hair blowing in the wind as they enjoyed the wind in their faces carrying the smells of a village, something they'd missed over the past 2 weeks though still enjoying the hint of the salty sea the wind carried.

After a few moments Kinzoku broke the silence by turning to her first mate and saying, "You know, we really haven't done much since becoming pirates other than getting in to random fights. Don't you think it's about time we got a new crew member?"

Zenythe took a second to think before replying, "Yeah we probably should. I had actually hoped we'd meet someone on the last island but we got distracted. We should probably split up and try to find a…" Zenythe's words came to a quick stop when he realised that Kinzoku had already left. "I guess I'll be getting supplies then. Seriously would it kill the girl to be the responsible one every once in a while," Zenythe murmured as he went to look for a place to stock up on food.

* * *

"So big man what's up? Have you got a job for us or what?" Eriot asked, causing the man behind the desk to glare at him until he rephrased it, "I mean sir do you have any jobs you need fulfilling?" The man sitting at the desk looked similar to Eriot with the same dark coloured hair and similar expressions on their faces; both had the intense look of a man who would kill without a second thought. The man had the same trench coat as Eriot's as well, however his was left open revealing a well-toned but extremely scarred torso. His hair, unlike that of the boy in front of him was short and his face was free of stubble. Most noticeable however was the hook that lay relaxed on the desk as a symbol of his battle hardened life.

"That's better. But no, you're free to do what you want unless I here of something I need attending to later." Said the man as his black eyes scrutinised his subordinate who he had been looking after for years. 'Hook hand' Harry as he had been known in a previous life sat behind his desk contemplating his life after dismissing the boy who was just one of the many people under his employ. He sat thinking of that time 10 years ago when he had taken in Eriot and therefore Raion who would always be part of the package. Then Arashi had come into the picture and it was three little runts he had to run after and teach manners to. Still it could have been worse, he could have had girls.

* * *

Kinzoku strolled through the town with her hands behind her head, whistling while staring at everyone she passed wondering if any of them would be worthy of her crew. "Hmm I still haven't thought of a name for my crew yet or who I wasn't to join me first. Should I try and fill up positions first and look for a chef and doctor, or should I just focus on making my crew as powerful as possible." Kinzoku murmured as she walked passed a bar. "Maybe I should have just stayed and listened to what Zenythe had to say. WHAT, A BAR!" Kinzoku screamed causing everyone to turn and stare at her causing Kinzoku to slowly walk into the bar with a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that" she muttered before side stepping into the bar.

Inside the bar there was a large collection of large muscly men who stared at the loud silver haired girl who probably weighed less than half of the weight of the smallest man in the room. She strolled down the clear area leading up to the bar, sending death glares at anyone she caught looking at her too long. When she reached the barman, who was a large burley fellow she leaned over the bar - which seemed less cool than it did in her head as she had to stand on the foot rest of the stool to do so – and ordered the man to, "get me the strongest stuff you've got." Causing an uproar in the bar which was soon filled with the sounds of laughter and tears. "WHAT! Have you guys got a problem 'cause if you do I'll be happy to taken on the lot of you!" Kinzoku shouted at the people in the bar and leaving them quiet.

"A little lady such as yourself shouldn't go around picking fights like that." Came a deep voice from the corner of the room which was soon joined by the squeaking sound of a chair being moved and a hulking mass moving forward to the girl who now wore a smirk.

"Come on then I'll take you then I'll take out the rest of these punks." Kinzoku threatened moving her hand to the bat strapped to her back.

"Chor-ha-ha-ha-ha-chor-ha-ha. Don't worry I will be the only one you will test your strength against. 'BEAR CLAW' HERRIC STRONGFIST CAPTAIN OF THE BEAR FIST PIRATES NEVER LOSES!" The apparent pirate bellowed before pushing through his large crew to get to the girl who had dared challenge him.

* * *

"Come on you lazy bum! Eriot will have already seen the boss by now we have to at least make it seem like we have done SOMETHING for the last couple of hours. COME ON!" Arashi said as he attempted to drag his large companion out of bed.

"Ten more minutes" Raion muttered before falling back asleep.

An hour later Arashi and Raion walked through the streets of the town to their usual spot; the area outside where Arashi's father's forge used to lie and near the bar where they got drinks after sparring. They were walking in silence - Arashi being too annoyed at the amount of trouble it was to wake Raion up to bother talking to him – when they heard someone shout something that sounded like, "WHAT, A BAR!"

"What the hell was that?" Arashi said as he began to walk towards the source of the sound, only to stop when Raion pulled him back.

"It's not our problem if some chipmunk on helium is running around shouting things. Let's just spar quickly and be done with it." Raion told Arashi as he began to drag him over to their usual spot.

* * *

"That'll be 20,000 beri thank you." The beaming shop assistant said holding out her hand to receive the currency from the tall customer. Zenythe groaned while paying her before taking the recently bought meat and other fare from the counter before turning from the purple haired girl without a word. As he left, his afro brushed against the top of the door frame and as the door closed behind him he could hear the disgruntled woman muttering to herself about how people were only ever bothered about what they wanted and how no one was ever willing to exchange pleasantries anymore.

Zenythe had an awkward smile on his face as he walked away from the shop, "Hmm well I guess I could've been a bit friendlier. Oh well no point crying over spilt milk." Zenythe said as his lips pulled into a sheepish grin. "What to do now, what to do? I could wait by the boat but she's probably going to get herself into some kind of trouble."

"WHAT, A BAR!" Zenythe heard someone shout.

"Sounds like Kinzoku." The boy muttered as he began moving faster towards the source of the noise faster. Zenythe began to extend the reach of his senses looking and listening out for any sound of his captain.

* * *

"That man needs to calm down. It's like he's got some stick up his ass or something." Eriot muttered as he left Hook hands office. As he passed the multitude of guards sitting outside the boss' door Eriot reached his hands past his neck and rested them on the back of his head before kicking open the door and leaving his boss' main headquarters. After escaping from the cloud of smoke that followed him out of the door Eriot began to whistle as he strolled through the town.

"Hmm what should I do now? I guess I have a few beri to spare, I could go buy myself a snack." Quickly deciding the quickest route he made his way through the street at a slow pace, deciding to enjoy the walk and time away from his constantly bickering annoying friends. As he walked he watched the people he walked passed. Eventually he walked passed a group of girls who he managed to somehow gain the attention of. He sent a cocky smile and wink in the direction of the girls causing them to smile and wave him over.

The boy was suddenly interrupted in his corny attempts at flirting as a large blur brushed passed him, almost knocking him over. Eriot only just managed to keep his balance by doing a weird pose to spread the weight. By the time he looked up his assailant was gone cursing him to mutter a stream of profanities but he stopped remembering the girls, however as he looked up with a smile once again on his face he saw the distant shapes of the girls as they walked off. Though they were far away he could still here their laughter and see them mimicking his pose, causing him to continue his journey in a depressed silence.

"Finally," the boy said as he got to the sandwich stand, "Hey Lloyd can I have the usual?"

"One sandwich coming up." The man said with a smile.

Eriot smiled in response and said, "Thanks" while watching as Lloyd made his snack.

"Here, that's 200 beri Eriot." When Lloyd picked up the sandwich and turned to hand it to the boy he already had the coins out and quickly put the money in his hand before beginning to devour his meal.

"WHAT, A BAR!" Someone shouted, interrupting Eriot's meal and causing him to begin to choke on it. Seeing what was happening Lloyd rushed to his loyal customer's side and began to smack him in the back attempting to dislodge the food from his throat. The man eventually succeeded reopening Eriot's airways but in the process Eriot lost his sandwich causing an angry glare to appear on his face.

"Someone's going to pay for that, and it's not going to be me." Eriot said as he ran to the source of the sound.

After seeing this angry display Lloyd simply stood there shell-shocked before muttering, "But he already paid…"

* * *

Arashi's heirloom, Kazeshini swung through the air in front of Raion who just about leaned back enough to dodge it. "Well done Raion, you can dodge a blade but you can't counter attack can you? I mean you haven't given me any reason to believe you can." Arashi stood a few feet from Raion who backed away after dodging. They stood in a large area free of obstruction, the only way into the area was through a small alleyway and the boundaries of the area were the walls of buildings surrounding it. Arashi's father's forge and home used to stand where Arashi and Raion stood now but the only evidence of this was the scorch marks surrounding the area and the small bits of rubble that came from the top of the buildings foundation.

"Well you want to see some attacks? Then I'll show you." Raion suddenly brought his left fist back leapt in the air and smashed it into the ground in front of Arashi, creating a large pile of rubble. Arashi had however jumped a safe distance from the attack before being pelted by some of the pebbles created by Raion's earlier attacks.

"Pathetic you call this an attack? Sure the punch was good but throwing rocks? That's just pathetic." As Arashi said this he kept his sheathe on guard in front of him and sliced through all of the pebbles with this blade.

"Hehe you know all this up close and personal fighting isn't my style." Raion said as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

Arashi snorted in response before continuing, "That's not true, well it's not always true anyway. How about you unleash the beast and we go all out?" As he said this the boy brought both his blade and large scabbard to his sides in a ready position as he crouched and moved towards his opponent/ friend.

It was then Raion's turn to snort as he said, "How about not?" Arashi quickly charged his younger but much larger companion, aiming for an uppercut to the jaw using his sheathe. Once again Raion dodged the attack but before Arashi could draw the blunt weapon back in Raion jumped over his head with the scabbard in his hand using the momentum of the swing to then pull Arashi over his shoulder using the scabbard as a lever and fling him into the floor a few feet away.

"You wanted me to 'unleash the beast' and that's what you're going to get, congratulations, here's your prize." Raion said gesturing to his left fist. Raion then made his way to his friend before bending down and putting a firm grip on his right arm and twisting it behind Arashi's back and slamming him face down into the earth.

* * *

"So you thought you'd beat me huh? Fool I am the most powerful and one day I will prove it to the world by destroying the World Government, the Shichibukai and the Yonkou as well as any punk who gets in my way." The small girl on the table shouted with a big grin.

The large man who was Herric Strongfist of the bear fist pirates sat on his chair with an upset expression on his face before brightening up and saying, "Well done little lady you truly are a worthy opponent."

_**15 minutes earlier. "So you want to fight huh?" Kinzoku said as the large man approached her. "Hurry up so I can take out the rest of these punks before I fall asleep."**_

"_**Chor-ha-ha-ha-ha what do you take us for? We are more civil than that. There is no need for violence, we shall settle this in a civilized fashion." The man said as he sat at the table closest to Kinzoku. "We shall… ARM WRESTLE!"**_

"Chor-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Herric laughed as he downed another large bottle of sake.

"Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Kinzoku laughed as she downed a much larger bottle of sake. The crowd soon joined the captain and new friend in laughter over nothing in particular.

"I still can't believe that there is so much muscle in one so small." One of the large pirates said as he poked the young captain's arm.

"I still can't believe that there is so little muscle in one so big." Kinzoku said poking the pirate in the stomach, her finger going through to the knuckle. This caused the drunken pirates - including Kinzoku and the man who was being poked though he had a blush spreading through his cheeks and he turned away from his nakama and friend - to begin to laugh even harder.

SMASH! The door made a deafening sound silencing the happy customers as it was slammed open. "YOU! One of you did it didn't you? This is the loudest place within a block, one of you must have caused me to drop my sandwich, and you're going to pay."

* * *

CLASH! Zenythe caught the sound of fighting and immediately ran in the direction hoping to find his captain but at the same time hoping she hasn't got in another fight. As he ran he paid little attention to anything other than the direction he was running in and the direction the fight was in. As he ran out of instinct alone he was able to dodge the people he almost ran into in the last minute but just as he dodged one person he was running straight into another. He was a young man probably about his age and the hit knocked him far out of the way but Zenythe was too focussed to see what happened but he did hear a stream of profanities fall from the humiliated party's mouth.

The wind pushed and pulled at Zenythe's head turning his perfectly circular afro into a much more streamlined cloud shape as it billowed from his head. His bag, which bounced wildly when he started now stood at a perfect right angle to his back due to the speed of his running. The speed of his run caused him to be at the area of the fighting in a much quicker time than expected due to the maze like layout of the town. What he saw when looking in to the alleyway shocked him so much, for a few seconds he completely forgot about Kinzoku.

* * *

Arashi had managed to wrestle his way out of Raion's grip and now stood a few metres from Raion with his back to the alleyway. He - annoyed at Raion- decided to stop holding back so much and was about to unleash one of his more powerful attacks on his annoying friend when he saw that Raion was staring at something over his shoulder. "What are you looking at?" Arashi asked but was met with silence. "Seriously if you think you can trick me into looking away so you can sucker punch me it's not going to work." Arashi said – annoyed at what he believed to be a cowardly and stupid trick. In response to this Raion just frowned as he continued to stare over his smaller companion's shoulder.

In response Arashi was getting really annoyed. Steam was pouring from his ears just as he was about to attack Raion but before he could he was interrupted by a calm voice, "He's not trying to trick you."

* * *

In front of Zenythe stood two people a gap of a metre or so between them. They looked as if they'd been fighting; their breathing was heavier than normal and you could see from the way that they were standing that they were on edge. One of the people, the one who stood closest to him had his back in his direction. The young man appeared around Zenythe's height and maybe just a bit slimmer. He had black hair that fell halfway down his neck forming a black spike and was spiked up on the top of his head. He had black trousers on and white leather trainers. He also wore a grey rope over his top which usually held his katana. His top stuck out the most though being bright white and high-collared as well as having extremely long sleeves that had a large red rim on the ends that caused his hands and the handle of his blade and where he held his scabbard to disappear inside the dark abyss which was his sleeves.

Zenythe's attention turned to the larger companion just as the smaller of the two asked, "What are you looking at?" The boy/ man was looking right at him now ruining Zenythe's chance to leave unnoticed and find Kinzoku. The boy - as Zenythe decided he was - stood well over both other boys in the area at over 7ft. He had an unruly messy mane of brown hair that that also consisted of a thick beard and moustache that hid the mouth. The reason Zenythe knew he was still a boy was the large innocent eyes that though suspicious didn't hold the experience of a man you'd guess him to be. As well as his large height he had large muscular shoulders as well as arms that were equally muscular and large but were also covered in hair. The boy's muscle was shown off by the tight orange t-shirt with a poke ball on the front that narrowed to an unbelievable extent at the waist. He had tight form fitting green trousers on that could almost pass as tights tucked into his black boots which were thin and were more for covering the feet than anything else.

The taller boy frowned as his shorter companion said, "Seriously if you think you can trick me into looking away so you can sucker punch me it's not going to work."

Just as the smaller man was beginning to get annoyed Zenythe decided it was time to reveal himself to the oblivious boy as he said, "He's not trying to trick you."

This caused the boy to spin his head round revealing his shiny fringe that fell over the left side of his face and the red feather in his pierced ear as well as the initially calm face that soon turned into one of shock as he saw Zenythe.

* * *

As he turned Arashi saw the silent observer standing behind him. He was just about taller than Arashi, not including the afro and was shorter than Raion even considering the afro and allowing him to stand on tip-toes. He had quite dark skin and dark eyes that were piercing Arashi's own. He stood there in a black and grey chequered hoody over a black t-shirt. He also wore dark jeans over black heavy duty army boots. His large afro framed his face as he stared at Arashi with a slight crooked smile. In response the shocked Arashi muttered, "Zenythe" Causing the young fighter's slight smile to grow into a full blown crooked smirk.

* * *

**A/N: Okay how did you like that chapter? Hopefully it was okay.**

**Just thought I'd comment on earlier, Hook Hand Harry isn't being sexist he just finds it easier to treat the boys as his children as he doesn't know how to relate to girls as daughters.**

**Characters in the chapter:**

**Kinzoku**

**Zenythe**

**Eriot**

**Arashi**

**Raion**

**Herric Strongfist**

**Hook Hand Harry  
**


	5. A new beginning IV

**A/N: Sorry I forgot to thank everyone who reviewed my story or added it to their favourite or author alert list so thank you: Dthehalfdragon, Tomoji-kun, Mareo and Anime and Rockstar Jubilee for their reviews and thanks to Endless Xero for betaing the last chapter.

* * *

**

It was a rainy day. The weather had been horrible all week but that hadn't shifted Arashi's good mood after finding the ship was on its way back through den-den-mushi. Soon his father and closest friend on the island would finally be coming home from a long trip out at sea. Every day for the past week the 8 year old Arashi had spent every evening standing at one of the many balconies of the marine building he called home looking over the horizon hoping to see that familiar ship carry his father and Zenythe home.

Though Arashi often thought of them during his more menial tasks such as going to buy food from local markets His mind was mostly dominated by thoughts of his mother. He worried about her. She had not been well for a while now and though he was only young and she tried to hide it, he could see she was getting no better. However though his father kept on stating that he would leave his job and stay home with them to look after her, he never followed through on the promise. Every time they called he would always come running just like the dog the people in the town called him and his colleagues. Arashi was beginning to lose faith in his father; while he was there it was great. He was always a nice and fun person to be around but Arashi's mother Kuroko didn't just need to laugh and have fun she needed to be looked after.

_**As Arashi stood at his vantage point from the balcony he thought back to what he had done earlier that day. It was like any other morning since Arashi's father had gone on his trip. The boy woke up early and went to begin his usual routine of preparing himself for the day and then moving to their kitchen and preparing breakfast. Today the boy would make eggs and bacon, a high protein meal perfect to get his mum's strength up. The 8 year old stood there watching as his eggs fried for a few more minutes. After lying the food out he went to his parents' room to wake his mother before the food got too cold. He knocked quietly once before doing a progressively louder second and third knocks. "Mother," the boy said as he let himself into the room and shuffled over to the side of his parents' bed. "Mother are you alright?" the boy asked with a slightly greater sense of urgency as he tapped the woman in the bed. "MOTHER!" The boy shouted as he began to shake his seemingly sleeping mother.**_

_**In response the mother woke with a start her hand wrapped around an unsheathed katana pressed to the boy's neck before she noticed it was him and sheathed her black handled nodachi with a muttered, "I'm so sorry." **_

"_**It's alright mum don't worry about it. I shouldn't have startled you like that." The boy beamed before grabbing her hand and leading her to the standard sized table the marines equipped all of their apartments with. He quickly pulled out her chair and sat her down before the proud woman shooed her son away in an attempt to stop all the fussing over her. **_

"_**You know Arashi you will grow up to be a fine man someday." The weary woman said as she looked at her son with a proud loving smile causing the child to blush as he wolfed down the rest of his food. The woman simply smiled as the child finished and began to clean and put everything a way. As her son ardently carried out the chores the woman; Kuroko began to wonder about her husband Shiroshi and her son's friend Zenythe.

* * *

**_

Zenythe sat crossed leg in his cabin which was a token from his father. It was a small room with very little inside. It had a plain white small chest of drawers as well as a white bed with white covers which matched the walls. By the small circular window stood a desk placed just so, so that the light from the window would catch it so that Zenythe could see as he carried out the necessary paperwork and continued his studies. The boy didn't generally receive special treatment from his father, if anything he was harder on him than his other men so to most the separate cabin was a surprise act of kindness. However it wasn't as big as other peoples and expecting Zenythe to do well and stop being such a disappointment was also the reason behind this action as well; the boy's old man refused to allow him to associate with lesser people other than on the battlefield in fear of him being influenced and corrupted by their ways.

At that moment in time the boy sat on the floor pondering the battle earlier and how he could have done better just as his father taught him to.

_**It was an incredibly bright sunny day and the light scorched Zenythe's skin and weakened him as the continuous strain of fighting the surrounding pirates also took its toll. Luckily if it was ever needed back-up was only a few metres away attached to the much smaller and less grand ship he fought on. However the question was not how close were the marines but whether his father would allow them to help him. After all the whole purpose of Zenythe being sent onto the ship to fight the pirates alone was to, "toughen him up".**_

_**Zenythe let out a moan as a sword broke through his defences. His defences being his bare hands as his father believed, "true strength came from one's self, not tools." As the blade came flying towards him Zenythe did what his father told him to never do in a fight… e shifted his focus onto one object, in this case the blade inches from his neck. As he moved to the side and to avoid the blade and gave it a push for assurance two other blades began to pierce his side and back before he jumped into the air to gain space. The blades left a trail as they were ripped out of the 8 year old through his upward motion while the cold father laughed at his son's rookie mistakes. The boy back flipped to gain further distance and landed on the edge of the ship just as a man withdrew his pistol from the holster. **_

_**Just as the man aimed Zenythe made another jump but this time he dived into the middle of the group of pirates causing them to leap out of the way while he was able to use his lower vantage point to knock a number of their feet from under them. By this time the man with the gun had already lost it after being jostled so many times and when he caught sight of this Zenythe launched a devastating roundhouse kick to his jaw, during which a crunching sound could be heard. He then followed up with a double fisted straight punch to the stomach sending the man and numerous others over the edge. **_

_**Before long Zenythe had taken care of the weak pirates but had become expectantly over confident due to the situation just as the captain and first mate rose from below deck. Feeling cocky Zenythe didn't take note of the power and grace of their walk showing an underlying fighting background to an extent that would put the other members of the crew to shame. Though looking back Zenythe could see this the Zenythe of that time didn't have the benefit of hindsight and was still riding the high achieved from his previous victory. As the two men approached them the child watched with an amused smirk.**_

_**One stood just over six foot which was a large difference compared to Zenythe's current height of 4 and a half foot and the other stood at around 5'7foot. The taller of the two men had stubble all over his large chin which made his face seem almost rectangular and he had short blonde hair. He wore a long green jacket that reached his knees as well as brown boots that ended just above the knee. His trousers were a slightly lighter shade of green than the jacket and he wore a brown polo neck underneath it. The other man who stood slightly smaller than the other had a full-fledged black beard that straightened into a point as well as black hair tied into a ponytail with red ribbon. He also wore a jacket similar to his captains however his was black and covered the two cutlasses he wore at his sides. He also wore a similar polo neck jumper which was yellow and he wore black trousers tucked into black boots.**_

_**The father having seen the men's stances gave a smirk at his son's incompetence while everyone else on his ship assumed Zenythe would once again win with little effort. The battle started slowly with Zenythe deciding to give them the first move and the two men circling the young boy who had somehow defeated their whole crew. The men continued to circle the boy waiting for their chance to move; however Zenythe being the less than patient eight year old that he was decided to make the first move. Bending his knees the boy prepared himself mentally before attempting a jump kick aimed at the taller of the two men. This did little to help the boys predicament however as the captain simply sidestepped as the first mate launched a kick at the boy's legs while he was mid-air. Zenythe was knocked onto his side as the man used the hilt of one of his drawn blades to slam the boy into the ground. **_

_**Luckily for the boy however his training had given him superior reaction time so he managed to catch the man's hand guard before it broke a rib, but an even greater testament to the boy's luck was the fact he had a good enough grip of the hand guard to move the sword and use it to block as the swordsman attempted to use his left sword to puncture his skull. The sword was noisily deflected by its twin in an awkward and ungraceful manner before being buried into the ship. After the quick move which saved his life the boy made a move to bring his feet up and clamp his legs over the arm that was still pressing him to the floor before quickly twisted his body around and bringing the swordsman to the floor with his arm behind his back and sword less. **_

_**Before getting a chance to celebrate however the boy was met by a searing pain in his ribs as the captain kicked him away from his first mate. Zenythe rolled with the blow to gain some distance from the attackers. He was at this point feeling a lot less confident in his ability as he looked up at his smirking father who simply looked down at his son with contempt. The two me were beginning to enjoy the fight now seeing the skill of the warrior and not just his youth. This time the captain mad the first move causing the boy to make a jump over him however as he was mid-air the first mate made another attempt at impaling the boy attempting to skewer him from head through the torso but the boy was able to alter his balance enough to start to spin backwards and kicked the blade and by extension the swordsman off course. As he landed the blonde shot towards him hand extended and his fingers snapped shut as he reached the boy's neck before he could do anything he felt the cutlasses pressed to both sides of his neck from behind in a scissor style.**_

_**The boy and swordsman both had their backs to the marine ship at this point so that meant the captain was facing the vessel that was bursting to the brim with marines. "Well marines it looks like we got your boy, and what a prodigy he is. He can't be more than 7 and yet he wipes out pirate crews by himself. You must be so proud." The blonde captain said with a smile. "However he doesn't seem quite ready to take out the higher ups. Perhaps you should take him away for some more training, otherwise he may get… hurt!" the captain said as he squeezed the boy's throat which was met by a pain filled groan making the threat clear.**_

_**A slow clapping was heard from the top of the ship causing everyone to look up at the captain of the ship. "Well done son, you fail again," the man said shocking those who heard him, most had worked with him for a long time and those who hadn't had heard the rumours of his cruelty and heartlessness but none had expected to see it aimed towards his own son. "You may do as you like to him," the man said to the pirates, "I ordered him to wipe out the entire pirate crew… no son of mine would fail so miserably." This caused an even louder chorus of gasps and in the midst of the cries Commander Shiroshi Seishin made his agile leap to the pirate's ship causing the Zenythe's father to frown. **_

_**Mid-air Shiroshi unsheathed the katana held at his hip from its ivory scabbard and as he touched down he made a swing at the pirate captain and just as he thought the swordsman moved his blade to block the attack. As Seishin put more effort into the attack the pirate was forced to use both blades to fight back. This gave Zenythe the distraction needed to kick out of the pirate's grip which held him in the air. He then grabbed the man's hand and threw the man over his shoulder across the ship before running to meet him.**_

_**At this point the two swordsmen were trading blows in a rhythmic fashion. Though Arashi's dad had only one sword compared to the pirates two Shiroshi didn't lose any ground, he blocked all strikes in a calm fashion while also sending off a few of his own counter blows. Shiroshi suddenly began to shit a gear blocking the strikes in a quicker fashion and dealing his blows with more power; he was finally going to show the crew why he had recently been promoted to Commander. He started to attack with more speed and ferocity not giving his opponent the chance to attack and pushing him onto the defensive. Cuts began to appear on the man's arms as he began to tire, blood also started to pour from his arms in high pressured gushes as the wounds became deeper and suddenly all was still as the Commander's sword could be seen coming out of the man's back right through the space his heart lay.**_

_**During the swordsman's battle Zenythe also fought, this battle being much easier for him as he now only had one opponent. The powerhouse of a captain had thrown numerous punches but it was awkward for him as he had never before fought such a small opponent. It was easy for Zenythe to dodge the tall pirate's attacks and counter with fearfully powerful kicks, the majority of which struck the same spot in the man's jaw. After a particularly ferocious kick the captain was on the floor backing away from the child who in his opinion had enough skill and strength to induce fear in the most battle hardened pirates. The man came to a sudden stop as he realised that his escape route was cut off by the ships side and just as he turned back to the boy he saw a small foot flying through which smashed him through the port side of the ship. The boy watched the man skip across the water for a good distance before diving in and dragging him as well as the rest of the crew to the cells in the hull of the large marine ship that dwarfed the pirate ship that was slowly sinking after being to look like Swiss cheese with all the cannon ball holes the marines had made in it.**_

After finishing the meditative exercise Zenythe stood with the majority of the crew looking out over the horizon where Oreburgh Island had finally come into sight.

* * *

As Arashi stood there at the balcony a smile came to his face. It was unsure and cautious at first but grew when he finally realised that it wasn't just a trick of the light and a giant ship that was so big it couldn't belong to anyone other than the rear admiral had appeared over the horizon. "Mother, they're back, they're back!" the boy screamed to his mother as he went into their apartment.

After the two Seishins stood in the marine docks along with the families of other marines they saw the warriors of the sea, their warriors of the sea make their way out of the ship, but no Shiroshi. One of the first ones to move was Zenythe as he pushed his way through the crowd of homesick marines as if he were attempting to escape from someone though he didn't once look back. Arashi's frown about not seeing his dad leaving the ship lessened slightly at the sight of his best friend who quickly reassured Arashi and his mother as he told them Shiroshi was just talking to his father, though only Kuroko noticed his frown as he talked about it.

The woman who was still noticeably ill looking but insisted on meeting her husband hurried off to meet him and her old friend while her child listened in awe at the tales of the battles Zenythe and Shiroshi had fought. The woman made the long walk through the crowd and against the general flow of people. She continued her journey until reaching the top of the ship where one marine stood guard outside the door. As she walked up to the marine and door she could hear the sound of her husband's raised voice before the young marine approached her.

The boy had bright red hair that was cut short and stood a head taller than Kuroko at around 6 foot. He wore a baseball cap with the word, "MARINE" on the front as well as a short sleeved white shirt with the word marine and a seagull emblazoned onto the back out of sight. He also wore dark blue trousers and a blue neckerchief but over all these clothes he wore a large coat over his shoulders in a cape like fashion. As he saw her approaching the door he quickly made his way to confront her. "Who are you?" the dark haired woman barked before the boy had a chance.

The question was spoken with too much authority for the boy to ignore so he stood to attention, causing the woman to smile before continuing, "I am Ensign Axel Mirando ma'am," the boy said before plucking up the courage to carry on. "Who are you ma'am?" the boy asked while still stood at attention causing the woman to snort.

Before she had a chance to continue however a loud voice that did not belong to her husband could be heard shouting, "She is former Captain Kuroko Seishin and unless you want to go back to scrubbing toilets, you better open the door and let her in!"

Axel recognising the name quickly bowed to her before running to the door and opening it for her to go in. As she passed him the boy couldn't help but wonder what exactly happened to her, here she walked like a zombie, sweaty and pale yet last time he had seen her, the way she had demolished the opposing pirates had been awe inspiring. Noticing an angry look coming from the rear admiral the ensign took notice of everyone watching him stare at Kuroko and slowly backed out of the room closing the door behind him.

* * *

**A/N: I still really need characters so please send some in. I've got the main crew I think but I still need marines, bounty hunters and rival pirates. Btw I especially need characters as I won't be using or mentioning any canon characters, please remember that when submitting characters.**

**Oh yeah and this is being split coz I wanted to write more random stuff from the past so the next chapter will carry on from this. **

**Characters in the chapter:**

**Arashi**

**Former Captain Kuroko**

**Zenythe**

**Commander Shiroshi**

**Rear Amiral Acmay**

**Ensign Axel Mirando  
**


	6. A new beginning V

**A/N: Thanks for reading my story and a special thanks to: Ally 911, Dthehalfdragon, Mareo and Anime and Rockstar Jubilee for reviewing the last chapter. **

**Also happy birthday Endless Xero for Sunday sorry I'm late but I didn't manage to finish it on time and thanks for betaing**

**And also thanks to my mum who also proof read one section that I'm sure you can guess when you read it, here's a hint it's kind of ironic **

**By the way to spice the story up you can ask any random trivial question about the characters and I'll post the answer on the next update. **

**This doesn't affect any of you in anyway but I thought I'd say I was listening to Mayday Parade while writing this, they're a great band.

* * *

**

Last time on To Sail on Calm Seas:

It was discovered that Arashi's mother Kuroko was ill and the boy wants his father to come home to look after her. Meanwhile the boy's father Shiroshi helps Zenythe to defeat a pirate crew taking on the first mate while Zenythe handles the rest. Upon returning the two boys greet each other and talk while Arashi's parents are talking to Zenythe's father Rear Admiral Acmay.

* * *

Oreburgh Island, it was an Island with an abundance of natural resources that stood far above sea level. It mainly consisted of a thick forest which contained four openings into the islands underground mining area where most of the island's exports were uncovered. On South East side of the forest which spread across the whole island stood a small village and a marine base which took up the same amount of space stood on the North West. On the far West side of the island stood the dock reserved for marines where many still stood along with their family and friends however that didn't include Zenythe or Arashi who were once again on their way into the forest separating the marines and their families from the other inhabitants of the island.

Zenythe and Arashi had started the journey soon after Kuroko left but they knew she wouldn't mind. After all they spent most of their time in the forest or the village. The boys from the marine base jogged until reaching the end of the wooden dock upon which they burst into a sprint with Zenythe quickly pulling ahead. They ran along the ravine looking up to the vertical rock walls on either side, a forest resting on one and their home on the other.

As the boys ran, the ground started to become steeper as it started to even out with the high walls that had been caused the seemingly gentle motions of the tide. When they reached the top they had around a minute of barren level earth before hitting the wall of trees where Zenythe stopped, waiting for his friend. After a few seconds Arashi caught up and they both began to walk through the forest.

The two boys being young were never tired of the forest, whether they climbed trees, ran between them or just watched the animals they provided a home for, they were satisfied. At the moment the boys had just raced to the top of a tree to see who was faster. This was the one thing so far that Arashi had been able to beat Zenythe at. Zenythe had won at racing and sparring matches even though he used no weapons against Arashi's wooden training swords, however when it came to tree climbing Arashi always won which infuriated the competitive young boy to know end. Though Zenythe would never admit it, it had nothing to do with ability, rather Zenythe's fear of heights just like his mother before him though he still pushed himself to the top.

After a while the boys had had enough of sitting in the tree, they slowly and carefully made their way down to the base of the tree. After jumping from the last branch the boys began to make their way to the village for something to drink. The self-proclaimed future marines made their way to the village with a slow jog. As they broke through the walls of trees their pace began to slow as they walked to their usual spot when in the village.

As they were around the corner from the café they usually stopped off at, they passed an alley way where they saw the silhouettes of several people but the stopped as they heard an angry growl.

"Hey!" A voice from the alleyway shouted accompanied by the sound of footsteps.

Arashi looked at Zenythe in fear as the man reached them evoking a terse, "what do you want?" from Zenythe. This put a look of distress in Arashi's eyes as he looked between Zenythe, the man and the other men slowly joining the first.

The men were all scruffy looking with messy hair whether it was long or short and unkempt facial hair. There were six of them and their outfits all consisted of tattered worn denim and plain t-shirts covered in stains. The men all appeared to be in either their late teens or early twenties, but what was most shocking was the hopelessness and anger in their eyes and the bottles of alcohol which often accompanied this state of mind.

"You little brat how dare you talk to me like that? I've seen you before you're one of those marine brats right?" the man said with a sneer, "you're all the same you and your marine families, all stuck up snobs who think you're better than us." The first man said.

"You could be a marine too…" Arashi spoke up innocently earning a glare from the man as he started to move closer.

"And why would I want to be? Why does everyone have to be like you to get equality huh? Are miners not just as important, we're the ones who bring in all the income for the island and yet you're the ones living in luxury while we get squat?" As the man said this he got even closer to the boys as his older looking companions just nodded. As he moved closer and closer Zenythe stood protectively in front of his less battle-hardened friend.

"Stay back, there's no point being angry at us we don't even know you." Arashi spoke quietly.

"What was that you little brat?" The man said as he reached out to grab Arashi.

"Leave! Arashi! Alone!" Zenythe seethed as he grabbed the man's wrist in a vice like grip.

Normally the man would be scared due to the pain the boy's grip was able to cause but the alcohol had dulled his nerves as well as his reasoning so he didn't show a healthy amount of caution or fear but instead attempted to punch the boy with his free right hand. In response, Zenythe simply plucked it out of the air and squeezed causing the man to fall to his knees in pain as the sound of bones breaking could be heard.

At first everyone stood in a stupor but eventually the other miners attacked hoping to help their friend but they were just as easily dispatched. The men's movements were slow and laboured as they attacked. There were five of them but they attacked one at a time instead of surrounding the boy which would have been a much more effective strategy. The drunken men came one at a time, sending weak punches and kicks in Zenythe's direction but with Arashi behind him he couldn't dodge like he normally would have, so after dropping the first man's arms he simply blocked their blow and delivered fierce kicks whenever he got a chance until they were all unconscious.

After a few seconds of silence Arashi asked his friend, "how did you do that?"

Zenythe smirked, an action that looked strange on such a young face and said, "What? Did you think I lied about the stuff I've done? They were nothing compared to some of the things I've had to face." The boy said as his mind flicked back to the strenuous exercises Rear Admiral Acmay forced him to do that seemed to border on torture.

All the while during Zenythe's contemplation of his memories two pairs of eyes stared at him in awe after his defeat of the miners, the eyes of Arashi and that of a small silver haired girl with wide grey eyes.

* * *

Kuroko stood before her husband and old friend while they both looked angry at Ensign Axel's stares. She quickly decided to break the silence and tension by saying, "So what were you guy's talking about?"

Her husband sighed while Acmay frowned, she always was the only person other than his superior he'd let talk to him like that. The man looked at his child hood friend now and it reminded him of earlier days when he was more innocent. He had been with her for as long as he could remember, they were childhood friends, he had even been the one to introduce her to Shiroshi who he hadn't immediately approved of and he was also Arashi's godfather.

Shiroshi was the one Kuroko expected to answer her, but instead her long-time friend Acmay had the honour, "Shiroshi and I were just discussing the terms of his resignation," the man said in a cold voice obviously not approving of losing his highest ranked officer.

"WHAT!" The woman screamed causing Axel to jump outside.

Shiroshi aimed a frown at Acmay before looking at his wife in an unsure ashamed manner. "I'm sorry but I can't accept my punishment, I refuse to. You can ask him," the man said gesturing at his commanding officer with his head before continuing, "about it if you want. See if you think it's fair."

Kuroko turned to her friend who she had spent most of her childhood and all of her marine life with. Under her piercing glare Acmay quickly relented, "I told him to clean the toilets after undermining me in front of the crew." Acmay said in his defence.

"Well it seems a little harsh but from you it seems quite lenient," earning a rare smile from the marine before she turned to her husband.

"The only undermining I did was saving his son from death"

"After I told Zenythe to take out the crew himself," Acmay added. The parents had often argued about the best techniques in child rearing, Acmay always vehemently supporting the tough love style believing he should push his children in order for them to achieve. He wouldn't back down on this idea as it was how he was raised.

"But why would you quit because of that? It seems so unlike you…." Kuroko said as she stared suspiciously at her husband.

"Well umm I have to stand up for my beliefs." Shiroshi said as he sweats profusely under the gaze of both Acmay and Kuroko.

"AH!" The women screamed at her husband causing all three men (including Axel who had been listening) to jump. "You're using this as an excuse to stay home and 'take care of me' aren't you?" the woman asked while Acmay frowned at the new development.

"Honey please..."

"NO! We've already had this discussion; one of us has already had to give up their dream because of this," Kuroko said partly lifting up her top to show a deep wound that though it looked healed still carried discolouration and caused her great physical and the men in the room emotional pain, "and that's more than enough in a relationship. One of us has to carry on the dream of becoming the most powerful swordsman." Kuroko said as she looked at her love in a pleading way while he looked confused and pained while Acmay still looked tense and had a clenched jaw from when he saw the wound he felt that he should have stopped.

* * *

The seven year old Kinzoku had went to her mum and told her what happened before the boy's had got to the café, so when they did, their usual ice cold lemonades were waiting for them. She had missed a day of baseball but that was ok because seeing those two was much more interesting. She couldn't understand how he was so strong but she had heard them in here before, talking about their fights so the other boy must be at least almost as strong.

While there, her mum had often tried to include Kinzoku in the boy's conversation but she just looked away; a lot more embarrassed than any other time when she'd at least said hi to her mother's favourite customers.

The next day Kinzoku woke with her usual energy but this time it was more focussed than before. She was going to talk to those guys this time. However when she got downstairs to the café and she asked her mum what time she thought they would be here her mother told her that the marines were due for another quick patrol before a longer break and that Zenythe usually went with them. She also went on to tell her that Arashi doesn't show up either when Zenythe doesn't go with him, putting Kinzoku in a bad mood as she went to play baseball.

"Hey Kinzoku," Kinzoku's older friend Sakura said as she ran up to her smiling. Kinzoku gave a brief smile in response but her heart wasn't really in it, she was really looking forward to talking to those guys. They seemed so cool.

The two girls made their way to the area they usually played baseball; the point just outside the town between the village and forest. There were five of them all together, the children in the village who liked playing baseball that is. There were more kids but they either couldn't or wouldn't play baseball and then there were the kids in the marine base like Arashi and Zenythe but the village and marine kids didn't really mix which got her thinking about whether Arashi would want to play.

"Hey guys" Sakura quickly squealed causing Kinzoku to wonder why a girl like her who liked flowers would want to play baseball. There were murmured greetings in return as the girls approached the other baseball enthusiasts who all happened to be boys.

"Hey guys, I was wondering if you'd mind if a friend of mine joined." Kinzoku stated as she came to a stop in the midst of the semi-circle the boy's made to incorporate Kinzoku.

"Who?" a large boy named Eric asked. He was around 4'11 and was 10 years old and always picked at everything Kinzoku did which her mother said was because he like her but she knew was because she was the only one who could compete with him in baseball and physically in general.

"A friend of mine from the marine base," Kinzoku stated and she grew happier with herself by the second as she saw the looks of awe and shock from her friends who had probably never even met any of the marine kid as neither side was generally willing to cross the forest. However Eric wasn't looking happy. He was the son of a pretty bitter man who hated the marine's 'easy' life which influenced both of his sons causing the older one of them to get drunk and attack two marine kids who walked passed him and his friends.

"Are you serious?" the boy asked getting right in her face, "how can you be friends with one of those snobs?"

Kinzoku pushed the boy back, getting annoyed at the loss of her personal space and the insult to the people she admired she thought the marines were cool. The boy got even angrier as he fell to the floor and he was reminded of seeing his brother on the floor with broken fingers and a fractured wrist. He quickly pushed himself off of the floor as people started to laugh and the 9 year old Sakura who he liked began to giggle. Seeing red he attempted to push Kinzoku down in retaliation but was met by a punch in the face that knocked him out cold.

One of the smaller kids immediately ran for his mum who got Kinzoku's mum and the doctor before going to the clearing. It turned out no lasting damage was done but Kinzoku was kept home until her father came home from the mine at which point Kinzoku's mother went and had a whispered talk with him. After less than a minute the two came over to the stool she sat on.

"Kinzoku dear…" Kinzoku's mother started.

"… We've told you that it's wrong to fight haven't we?" her husband continued. And they certainly had after the amount of times Kinzoku had come home with bruised knuckles.

Kinzoku immediately put on sad face as she told them, "But he was in my face and calling my friends names…" Which caused both of them to wrap their arms around her and assure her it would be alright and that they were proud that she stood up for herself and her friends.

* * *

The day after Kinzoku's fight Arashi awoke with the thought that his father and best friend were gone again. He had woken up early like he always did when his father wasn't there to care for his mother. Did he not see that she was ill the boy thought as he silently cursed his father with the few words that he knew?

The boy got out of bed and decided to make congee for his mum as she always made it for him when he got ill. It took a bit of time to make the rice porridge but eventually he did and served up two bowls; one for him and one for his mum. The boy felt happy for some reason which might have something to do with the fact that the marine ship would be back in a few days and they would be staying for at least a few months. The sun was also shining and the birds were singing which might have contributed to his mood.

Arashi made his way to the dining table and placed both bowls onto it before he walked to the counter and opened up the bottom drawer taking out a tray. For a special surprise he'd give his mother breakfast in bed, the boy thought as he took a spoon from another drawer and placed it on the tray and picked a bowl from the table also placing it on to the tray. He then strolled to his mother's room with a smile on his face. As he reached the door he realised it may be awkward and so decided to do this slowly. He pressed the tray between his stomach and the door and steadied it with one hand before twisting the door handle with the other.

The boy was terrified of staining the white carpet and ruining his day so he was extra careful as he snaked his foot around the door and moved out of the way. He then remembered he forgot to knock so he used his elbow to do so before walking in to wake up his mother. Usually he'd get scared that she didn't answer the knock but she hadn't since she had the 'accident' so he needed to stop panicking over something that was a regular occurrence.

The boy made his way to the bed placing the tray against the bedside table he began to tap his mum to wake her up. When he noticed it didn't work he sighed as he took both of her shoulders in his hands and shook her. The young boy began to worry as he noticed it didn't work before he reassured himself, "this happens all the time soon enough Kazeshini will be at my neck." He then grew even more fearful as time passed and he noticed how cold she felt under his fingers. She usually slept so restlessly and always seemed tired when she woke but now… she was oddly peaceful.

NO, the boy thought as tears fell. He kept shaking her progressing to more violent motions after a time, before long the boy dropped to his knees and cried before remembering what his father always told him before leaving, "If anything is wrong," the man said while glancing at the boy's mother, "just go fetch the doctor," while Kuroko simply rolled her eyes. That's it! The boy thought as he rushed to his feet with tears in his eyes. He stumbled as he stood knocking over the bedside table before sprinting off, leaving the forgotten breakfast spread across the floor.

"PLEASE, HELP! SOMEONE HELP!" The boy screamed as he left the apartment and ran through the corridor causing many annoyed grumbles and groans. The boy continued to run and cry until he reached the 7th floor where the doctor lived. He ran straight into the large bald man, with a pointed grey moustache and beard who had left the apartment to see to the ruckus and would have fallen over had the doctor not caught him and held him as he sobbed. After leading the man back to his apartment and his mother's room the doctor immediately knelt beside his patient and sighed after placing his hand on her neck and checking for breathing. He did it again just in case, looking for some hope or sign but from the temperature of her body the doctor could tell she'd been gone for a while.

He looked across to the boy who still had tears in his eyes but when his met those set in the doctor's wrinkled face the boy broke down. The man had attempted to get up and comfort the boy but he rushed off. Fearing the worse the man followed him to the balcony where he saw the eight year old staring out at the sea before screaming, "DAMN YOU SHIROSHI!" sending a chill down the man's spine, as he was sure he could feel Kuroko turning in her grave at what was recently spoken.

* * *

Shiroshi who was unaware of what had just happened and was talking to Zenythe released a sudden sneeze as the marine ship docked in order to arrest the bandits known to have made their base in the area.

* * *

Six days later Kinzoku was standing at the dock on the marine side of the island. She had heard that the marines had planned to be back today so she stood there hoping to meet and finally properly introduce herself to Zenythe.

The girl had been waiting all week for this hoping to meet the two strongest people she'd ever seen, even if she hadn't actually witnessed Arashi's strength. She had been distracted this whole week and when she finally relented in telling Sakura she had been teased endlessly but it would be worth it if she could recruit these two to her pirate crew. But becoming a pirate was her second choice first of all she planned to attempt to become a professional baseball player but if that plan fell through at least she had a backup.

After a few moments to calm her thoughts and to prepare what she'd say she saw the ship over the horizon and people slowly filing into the dock. Kinzoku thought that she should start moving now but decided that she could wait and let the people waiting to see their families go first after all she didn't even know the boy she was waiting for.

It took a little less than an hour for the ship to get there and by now the wooden dock was full to the brim with anxious families wanting to make sure their loved ones were safe. People from the village often insulted and disagreed with the marines, whether it was because they: thought they fought 'immoral' battles, were the government's 'dogs' or were given too much 'luxury' from the world government. However Kinzoku didn't agree with this and neither did her parents, the marines fought for justice and even if you didn't agree with the government she didn't believe you could find fault with the government; except the corrupt ones that is.

After a while the ship was beside the dock with the steps out and the marines pouring down. A large smile shone from the young girls face as she saw Zenythe and was about to go talk to him when she noticed the large bald man next to him who somehow looked like Arashi. Then the two were soon met by another large bald man who had a strange pointed moustache that stuck out at a 90 degree angle from either side of his face and a pointed beard that fell straight down and seemed almost like a blade. The elderly man, who stood taller than the man next to Zenythe, approached them slowly causing the younger man to freeze and go rigid eliciting stares from passing marines. Zenythe appeared busy so Kinzoku decided to wait to talk to him later but she could take her eyes off the group as the younger bald man eyes widened and he fell to his knees as Kinzoku looked on in shock.

* * *

It had been over a week since the marines had landed and most of the time Zenythe had just been staying out of everyone's way. He had heard from the doctor that Arashi hadn't even left his room since finding his mum. He had been sitting in his room and staring into space and had to be pressured to eat anything at all.

Zenythe had generally spent the last week in his room, in the training facilities or the forest. Most marines had continued to train as they were a bit disheartened at the death of a legend but had not been affected enough to stop work. What was more shocking was the slave driver who was their captain had called off all training until after the funeral as no one had known how close he was to Kuroko apart from one ensign that is.

At this moment in time Zenythe wasn't in any of his usual places. He wasn't in the forest, his room or the training room. He was stood a little way from the marine base, with many others but he wasn't in his usual white t-shirt and blue trousers, he now wore a small black suit with a white shirt and black tie, along with all of the other men there, while the women also wore an assortment of black clothing.

While the man was saying a few words before lowering the cold woman who used to be so warm to everyone into the ground Zenythe stood looking at Arashi. They hadn't spoken since before Zenythe left on the last patrol when the girl had been acting all weird around them. Zenythe had thought about going to talk to him but he had no idea what to say so he just stood and watched as his friend seemed to breaking.

After the body had been lowered and buried, the people slowly dispersed leaving the close friends and family to mourn in peace. Soon it was just Acmay and family, Shiroshi and Arashi left but after a while Shiroshi turned to his son's godfather, went to him and asked for a word in private. The two men soon left, leaving their sons alone standing there in silence with large gaps in between them. The only noise being the sound of the rain hitting the boys like it attempted to crush them, as if the emotional pain wasn't enough for Arashi.

"So what did you want to…?" Acmay started before being cut off.

"I can't do it, okay?" Shiroshi said but was met by silence so he continued, "If I hadn't been on patrol I might have been able to help her. She might still be alive now" As Shiroshi said the last part he was facing down ashamed of himself.

Acmay shook his head before contradicting his soon to be ex subordinate, "It wasn't your fault we all knew she wasn't getting any better. That's beside the point anyway you couldn't have stayed behind if you wanted to. She was too proud to allow you to help, you didn't stand a chance."

"Arashi blames me you know." Shiroshi said changing the subject and causing Acmay to look at him in surprise, "no one's said it to my face but apparently the fact that Arashi cursed my name is a hot topic in the base." The widower stated with a small smile while his friend clenched his hands, "And before you say anything I don't know who said it in particular, I've even heard the boy say it himself to tell you the truth. He mutters while he sleeps you know and the curse words coming from that 'innocent' subconscious aren't nice." Though the man had a smile in his face there were tears in his eyes as he admitted to his son blaming him for his son's death. "If it's the last thing I do I'll make it up to the boy, I'm going to be there for him."

"What will you do?" the Rear Admiral asked in a quiet reserved voice.

"For a start I'll quit the marines and then scrape some money together to start a forge… maybe teach Arashi his grandfather's trade."

"Well you won't need to do any scraping; the sum of your severance package and the compensation for Kuroko's injury should cover it and more."

"But you already paid us comp…" Shiroshi began before being silenced by a look from the marine, "thank you" the man said with a smile before clasping the marines arm.

* * *

It had been about a fortnight since the funeral. Shiroshi had taken the money and Arashi before going off to some place called Pastoria Island the same day. The marines had left immediately for another patrol after the two Seishins left behind moved away even though they were due around a month's break; some speculated the captain of the ship just wanted to get his mind off of his friend's death.

Zenythe hadn't been happy when they left but quickly decided if that's what they needed then it was for the best but it didn't stop him being upset over his two lost friends. He felt especially bad as he felt he had no one now, the only person he talked to on the ship was Shiroshi as he was the only one who had time for him and Arashi was his only friend at home, he was his best friend.

As Zenythe continued to mow through his thoughts he noticed the crowded wooden docks of home. But there wasn't really anything there for him now. Due to this fact he stayed behind wanting to be the last to leave and slowly made his way out when he walked into someone. His person was even smaller than him which got him wondering why their parents hadn't said anything he was about to mutter a quick I'm sorry when he saw a hand extended in front of him. He looked up to see the source of the arm. His eyes trailed up along the arm to see a girl about his age wearing a black t-shirt and denim skirt as well as black trainers. She also had silver hair and wide grey eyes, but what shocked him the most was the large smile that seemed to shine as she took his hand and said, "Hey I'm Kinzoku."

* * *

**A/N: So what did you think Zenythe's dad's a lot different with his friends than he is with his kids isn't he? Did you want to know anything else? Have you skipped this and the last chapter? Have these flash backs put you off the story? Tell me the answers to those and many other possible questions in a review…**

**Btw if you were wondering it was the bit where Arashi finds his mum dead that my mum read over**

**Here are the crew positions but there may be more that I haven't thought about.**

**Captain: Kinzoku**

**First mate: Zenythe**

**Marksman: Taken**

**Swordsman: Taken **

**Marksman: Taken**

**Chef: Taken**

**Shipwright: Taken**

**Doctor: **

**Musician: Taken**

**Chronicler: **

**Infantry: One taken but want more**

**There are also bounty hunters, random people, marines, Shichibukai, Yonkou and other pirates. **

**And I need a random character because as you can see from hook hand Harry's name I just don't have enough creativity to do it. **

**AND my first submitted character will be included in chapter 10 at the latest.**


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